The trail of lime trees outside our building is still a public loo. …where else are they supposed to go to the toilet in a city where public toilets are about as common as UFO sightings?” (pp.281-82)

our outside loo, known as the Betty, was a good loo; whitewashed and compact with a flashlight hanging behind the door. I smuggled books in there to read them in secret, claiming constipation.

So it just wasn't in my house. Anywhere, I looked like I knew about the toilet.

Grey cloth coaxes the lime trees of friends shadowing berries dropped by the grateful earth.

The only reason to be in politics is public service. There's no other reason. Frankly, if that's the best job you can get in terms of money, that's too bad, you know. Because frankly, it's not well paid, everyone knows that. So for most people it's a big sacrifice.

The African-American Freedom Trail: From Slavery to Freedom in New York City